A bouquet of flowers grace the door of the Sachdeva Sweets & Restaurant on 120th Street in Surrey Monday, April 29, 2013. Five members of the family that owned the popular shopping center diner died in a crash that occurred Sunday at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Avenue in Surrey.Ric Ernst
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The family shop was closed, April 29th, on 120th street in Surrey after a fatal accident at 176th street and 32nd avenue in Surrey on Sunday.Ward Perrin
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A memorial is building , April 29th, at 176th street and 32nd avenue in Surrey where an accident claimed five lives on Sunday.Ward Perrin
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Hair stylist Prabhjot Dulk spokeabout the family who operated the Sachdeva Sweets & Restaurant next door to her shop on 120th Street in Surrey Monday, April 29, 2013.Ric Ernst
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Sachdeva Sweets & Restaurant was closed, April 29th, on 120th street in Surrey after a fatal accident at 176th street and 32nd avenue in Surrey on Sunday.Ward Perrin
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The Sachdeva Sweets & Restaurant on 120th Street in Surrey is closed and sits empty Monday, April 29, 2013. Five members of the family that owned the popular shopping center diner died in a crash that occurred Sunday at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Avenue in Surrey.Ric Ernst
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People arrive at the home, April 29th, of the family that was involved in a fatal accident at 176th street and 32nd avenue in Surrey on Sunday.Ward Perrin
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Sachdeva Sweets and Restaurant, the business owned by the family in which five members were killed Sunday in a motor vehicle accident in Surrey, was shuttered Monday. A hand-written sign on the door read: "Close (sic) for a few days, family emergency, sorry." Sachdeva Sweets is registered to a Prem Nath Sachdeva, and has been in business since 2003.Ric Ernst
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An officer walks past some of the debris on the midde of the intersection where a serious motor vehicle crash killed 5 people at 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in Surrey.Kim Stallknech
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An officer investigations part of the vehicle that landed upside down in an old construction lot on the corner of 176 Street and 32nd Ave in Surrey. Five people were confirmed killed in the fatal accident.Kim Stallknecht
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Sgt Dale Carr of the Surrey RCMP detachment, describes the horrific scene at the serious motor vehicle crash killed 5 people at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in Surrey.Kim Stallknech
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Police presence is heavy at the scene of a serious motor vehicle crash that killed 5 people at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in SurreyKim Stallknech
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An officer walks past some of the debris on the midde of the intersection where a serious motor vehicle crash killed 5 people at 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in Surrey.Kim Stallknecht
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Surrey RCMP Sgt Dale Carr takes notes after a media briefing at the scene of a serious motor vehicle crash killed 5 people at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in Surrey.Kim Stallknech
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Police presence is heavy at the scene of a serious motor vehicle crash that killed 5 people at the intersection of 176th Street and 32nd Ave. in Surrey.Kim Stallknecht
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

Five people are dead following a car crash in Surrey.Shane MacKichan
/ PNG

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METRO VANCOUVER - Gurmit (Jolly) Sachdeva was waiting for his family to return from morning prayers Sunday so they could celebrate his son’s fifth birthday.

When they didn’t show up he grew anxious, especially after hearing about a serious car crash earlier that morning.

He went to look for his family and recognized their Toyota, split in two, at a south Surrey intersection. It had been struck by a Dodge Caravan that allegedly ran a red light. Five family members, including Sachdeva’s wife Reena, five-year-old son Aanish, three-year-old daughter Jessica, sister Neelam Dhingra, and his mother, Vidya, were dead.

“Jolly is crying inconsolably and so is his father,” said Radio India host Gurpreet Singh, who was among more than 100 mourners who visited the family home in a quiet Surrey cul-de-sac Monday.

Mounties said the crash was one of the worst they’ve seen in more than 20 years. Five bouquets and a stuffed animal ringed a traffic pole at the scene of crash at 176th Street and 32nd Avenue Monday.

Longtime friend and MLA Jagrup Brar, who came from the same Punjabi village as the Sachdeva family, said his heart goes out to them.

“It’s a huge, huge tragedy … no one can imagine their loss and pain,” he said.

“They were a very nice, loving, hardworking family.”

Mourners outside the Sachdeva home declined to speak to reporters Monday. A woman who answered the phone said Sachdeva was “OK but in shock” and was unable to speak with anyone at this time. She refused to comment any further.

The family business, Sachdeva Sweets and Restaurant, just a few blocks away, was shuttered. A hand-written sign on the door read: “Close (sic) for a few days, family emergency, sorry.” Bouquets had been placed at the sweet shop by late Monday afternoon.

Sachdeva Sweets is registered to Prem Nath Sachdeva, and has been in business since 2003. Brar, who regularly frequented the restaurant, said it was run by Jolly Sachdeva, his brother and his father but the whole family helped out. He last saw the family about a month ago but said he was aware it was Anish’s birthday Saturday and there had been a family celebration planned for Sunday.

“They were very loving children. They used to come to the restaurant,” Brar said. “My thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Inderjit Dadiala, a dentist whose office is in the same strip mall as Sachdeva Sweets, said Reena had come to Canada about five or six years ago to marry Jolly, who introduced his new bride to all the neighbouring business owners.

“She was so pretty, she had beautiful dimples,” Dadiala said.

She watched the family as it grew with the arrival of Aanish, then Jessica. “You know, you’re neighbours, you always know each other,” said Dadiala, who would often order her evening tea from Sachdeva.

She remembered Aanish as a “bubbly five-year-old” who spent time in a small garden plot in the common area shared by business owners in the strip mall. Jessica had recently learned to ride a tricycle.

Dhingra also had two teenage children and a husband. The family had lived in Canada for five years and had just returned home after a trip to India to visit family.

“I couldn’t sleep very well last night,” said Dadiala. “It makes you very uneasy.”

Prabhjot Dulk, who works at a beauty salon next door to Sachdeva’s business, said she knew the family and their young children.

“They were so cute,” she said of Aanish and Jessica, who often dropped in with their grandfather.

“The little girl, every time she would come here and take some candies.” Dulk said, adding Jessica would insist on taking one of each colour.

Dulk said she gave Aanish his last haircut just two weeks ago.

The Sachdevas are part of a large extended family, Dulk said, which includes grandparents, several adult children and their partners and children.

“It’s a big tragedy, one family is almost gone.”

The crash scene, which included a debris field about of about 200 metres along a stretch of Pacific Highway, was closed for hours Sunday. Sgt. Dale Carr said it appeared the minivan driver sped through a red light at the intersection and then crashed into the much-smaller car. A 46-year-old Langley man was airlifted to hospital, where he remains in stable condition.

ICBC inspectors were on site Monday but could not comment on the cause of the crash.

Surrey dad 'in shock' after crash that killed five members of his family (with video)

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